10 Other Outrageously Well-Dressed TV Shows (That Aren’t Mad Men)

Mad Men is a show that is superlative to others in many ways: the outstanding acting, the on-point direction, the ridiculously perfect casting, attention to detail by set design, a script that any actor would kill for…. and, oh yeah, the best wardrobe department in the business.

Any man or woman I know (and even some kids, have you seen Sally’s outfits?) would be content for the rest of their days having only a few pieces of that audacious, colorful, sexy, classy collection.

All that being said, Mad Men was not the first show, and not the only show currently on the air that has amazing threads. So let’s explore the truly stellar ones, shall we?

10. Hannibal – Christopher Hargadon

“Hannibal,” a deliciously creepy new NBC drama (if you have not watched the first season, DO IT, it’s amazing), centers on the notorious psychologist with exotic tastes.

Costume Designer Christopher Hargadon wanted to mark this distinctly fresh take on the Hannibal story through the title character’s pointedly refined style: “Even though this series is roughly based on the book and previous films, it has its own approach—in a sense it’s a prequel, but this is not the Hannibal we’re familiar with. He’s a sort of athletic, courtly, sophisticated European. I wanted to dress him with a feeling of the past and tradition and a rich heritage, but in looks that are also really appealing to the contemporary eye.”

With few exceptions—a few cashmere sweaters, going tieless while working with the FBI in the field, or prepping for dirty kitchen work in an apron—the doctor is the perfect picture of a refined sociopath. In regards to the character’s palette, Hargadon worked with paler color schemes at the season’s start, but implemented darker tones to reflect the increasingly ominous story line. He said:

“I started him very light and approachable looking. As he unmasks himself over the 13 episodes, he becomes much darker—but always sophisticated.”

I love how his style coincides with the finesse of the visual mastery of the show. The way he cooks, kills and dresses all go hand in hand, as they seem effortless and calculated. He is a man that picks his suits days in advance, lays them out, maybe even tries them on first to see what occasion they would be best suited (no pun intended). And with his victims he does the same. He picks a recipe, goes through his Rolodex of acquaintances, and picks what goes with what. The best serial killers are the most well dressed, apparently!

Born in Israel, but raised partly in the UK, Shira is rather an odd duck.
She will get in your face with her opinion, but will then be super polite to the waitress serving her a cocktail, no matter how bad the service is.
Movies are her passion, along with good TV, music, and Shakespeare. She loves to sing and goes to karaoke a lot, too. She will do anything creative, and will resort to finger painting if necessary.
Shira also, apparently, enjoys writing about herself in third person, which is weird. But she just finished her first Fantasy novel, and it's not about her, so that's ok.
Shira is very glad to be a part of WhatCulture!

Discussion

8 Comments

Some nice choices, especially The Good Wife which is a show so impeccably, yet apprpriately, styled that it is easy to overlook.

It’s hard to overlook classics like Dynasty, where Krystal and Alexis often battled it out with shoulder pads, amongst other things. I’m also a fan of the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Mary’s outfits are a little dated now (but often pretty fantastic) but the show gets props for dressing Ted superbly. Don’t believe me, rewatch episodes and see how he is costumed. Most of what he’s wearing is dapper and classic, not bad for the 1970s!

Hi DC! Agree completely about Good Wife, it’s so crisp and sharp, isn’t it?
As for Dynasty, as much as appreciate the cultural impact it had on the fashion at the time, I have a hard time myself connecting to the fashion. Those shoulder pads could poke someone’s eye out! :)
Dude, the MTM show was AMAZE-BALLS, fashion and everything-wise. The only reason I didn’t include it was because it was such a trail blazing show, but not for this list. When I publish my “best ever comedy shows” or something of the sort it will be high up there, but it hasn’t made as much of a mark with the fashions per se, as much as it did with the social aspects – it had the first never-married, independent career woman as the central character, which at the time was ground breaking. I would love to praise the actors, the script, and many other things, but it’s too good, for what it was, for this list… I hope that’s cool!
Thanks so much for your comments!! (And yeah, totally dapper.)

Never! Those cards can only be revoked if you either stop looking amazing (which i’m sure you do, it’s a given) or do something really outrageous, like misspell Madonna/Gaga/Liza (hope that’s not offensive, I adore all three :) ).

Thank you Joseph! Hannibal, much like Mad Men, is one of those flawless shows that as far as style, on all levels, is flawless. I’m a woman and I want those suits, man. I want to be Hannibal so bad. Without the eating/killing part, cuz that seems like a full time job. Thanks for reading!

Hannibal, White Collar, Boardwalk Empire, Downtown Abbey are shows that reminded us who grow up in the 90s on how men and women should dress. On personal note I think the 20s are the best era. The men dress like gentleman and the women are dress like goddess, made me want to build a time machine. Nicely done, Shire !